Oda Nobunaga
Nobunaga Oda was one of the three unifiers of this period. Nobunaga lived a life of continuous military conquest, eventually conquering a third of Japanese daimyo before his death in 1582. Unfortunatly he was betrayed by one of his retainers Mitsuhide Akechi and was killed by him at Honnoji in June 1582. Life Nobunaga was born on June 23, 1534 and was given the childhood name of Kipposhi. He was the second son of Nobuhide Oda. Through his childhood and early teenage years, he was well known for his bizarre behavior and received the name of The Fool of Owari. With the introduction of firearms into Japan, though, he became known for his fondness of Tanegashima firearms. He was also known to run around with other youths from the area, without any regard to his own rank in society. Unification of Owari In 1551, Nobuhide died unexpectedly and, during his funeral, Nobunaga was said to have acted outrageously, throwing the ceremonial incense at the altar. This act alienated many Oda retainers, convincing them of Nobunaga's mediocrity and lack of discipline and they began to side with his more soft-spoken and well-mannered brother, Nobuyuki. Hirate Masahide, who was a valuable mentor and retainer to Nobunaga, was ashamed by Nobunaga's behavior and performed suicide. This had a huge effect on Nobunaga, who later built a temple to honor Masahide. Though Nobunaga was Nobuhide's legitimate successor, the Oda clan was divided into many factions. Furthermore, the entire clan was technically under the control of Owari's shugo, Yoshimune Shiba. Thus Nobutomo Oda, as the brother to the deceased Nobuhide and deputy to the shugo, used the powerless Yoshimune as his puppet and challenged Nobunaga's place as Owari's new ruler. Nobutomo murdered Yoshimune when it was discovered that he supported and attempted to aid Nobunaga. To increase his power, Nobunaga persuaded Nobumitsu Oda, a younger brother of Nobuhide, to join his side and, with Nobumitsu's help, slew Nobutomo in Kiyosu Castle, which later became Nobunaga's place of residence for over ten years. Taking advantage of the position of Yoshikane Shiba, Yoshimune's son, as the rightful shugo, Nobunaga forged an alliance with the Imagawa clan of Suruga Province and the Kira clan of Mikawa Province, as both clans had the same shugo and would have no excuse to decline. Additionally, this also ensured that the Imagawa clan would have to stop attacking Owari's borders. Even though Nobuyuki and his supporters were still at large, Nobunaga decided to bring an army to Mino Province to aid Dosan Saito after Dosan's son, Yoshitatsu Saito, turned against him. The campaign failed, however, as Dosan was killed and Yoshitatsu became the new master of Mino in 1556. A few months later, Nobuyuki, with the support of Katsuie Shibata and Hidesada Hayashi, rebelled against Nobunaga. The three conspirators were defeated at the Battle of Inō, but they were pardoned after the intervention of Gozen Tsuchida, the birth mother of both Nobunaga and Nobuyuki. The next year, however, Nobuyuki again planned to rebel. When Nobunaga was informed of this by Katsuie Shibata, he faked illness to get close to Nobuyuki and assassinated him in Kiyosu Castle. By 1559, Nobunaga had eliminated all opposition within the clan and throughout Owari Province. He continued to use Yoshikane Shiba as an excuse to make peace with other daimyo, although it was later discovered that Yoshikane had secretly corresponded with the Kira and Imagawa clans, trying to oust Nobunaga and restore the Shiba clan's place. Nobunaga eventually cast him out, making alliances created in the Shiba clan's name void. Initial Expantion Battle of Okehazama Main article: Ambush at Okehazama In 1560, Yoshimoto Imagawa gathered an army of 25,000 men and started his march toward Kyoto, with the excuse of aiding the frail Ashikaga shogunate. The Matsudaira clan of Mikawa Province was also to join Yoshimoto's forces. In comparison, the Oda clan could rally an army of only 1,800, and the forces would also have to be split up to defend various forts at the border. Under such dire circumstances, Nobunaga was said to have performed his favorite Atsumori dance, before riding off with only a few attendants to pray in a shrine. The Oda clan's generals did not believe that they would survive the attack from Yoshimoto Imagawa's army. Only the night before, Katsuie had tried in vain to change Oda Nobunaga's mind about a frontal attack; he kept reminding Nobunaga of the joint army's complete lack of manpower compared to the Imagawa soldiers, who, according to rumors, numbered 40,000 men. Hidesada Hayashi, the remaining advisor from Nobuhide's days, even argued for surrender without fighting, using the same reasoning as Katsuie. Nobunaga's scouts reported that Yoshimoto was resting his troops at a small village called Okehazama. Nobunaga knew the countryside well. Dengaku-hazama was a narrow gorge, an ideal place for a surprise attack if the conditions were right. The scouts added that the Imagawa army were celebrating their victories with food and drink while Yoshimoto viewed the heads. Nobunaga moved up towards Imagawa's camp, and set up a position some distance away. An array of flags and dummy troops made of straw and spare helmets gave the impression of a large host, while the real Oda army hurried round in a rapid march to get behind Yoshimoto's camp. Fortune and weather favored Nobunaga, for about mid-day the stifling heat gave way to a terrific thunderstorm. As the Imagawa samurai sheltered from the rain Nobunaga deployed his troops, and when the storm ceased they charged down upon the enemy in the gorge. So sudden was the attack that Yoshimoto thought a brawl had broken out among his men. He realized it was an attack when two samurai charged up. One aimed a spear at him, which Yoshimoto deflected with his sword, but the second swung his blade and cut off Imagawa's head. Rapidly weakening, the Imagawa clan no longer exerted control over the Matsudaira clan. In 1561, an alliance was forged between Nobunaga and Motoyasu Matsudaira (later known as Ieyasu Tokugawa), despite the decades-old hostility between the two clans. Tradition dates this battle as the time that Nobunaga first noticed the talents of the sandal bearer Hideyoshi Kinoshita (Later known as Hideyoshi Toyotomi). Seige of Inabayama Castle Main article: Siege of Inabayama Castle In Mino, Yoshitatsu Saito died suddenly of illness in 1561, and was succeeded by his son, Tatsuoki Saito. Tatsuoki, however, was young and much less effective as a ruler and military strategist compared to his father and grandfather. Taking advantage of this situation, Nobunaga moved his base to Komaki Castle and started his campaign in Mino. By convincing Saito retainers to abandon their incompetent and foolish master, Nobunaga weakened the Saito clan significantly, eventually mounting a final attack in 1567. Nobunaga captured Inabayama Castle and sent Tatsuoki into exile. After taking possession of the castle, Nobunaga changed the name of both the castle and the surrounding town to Gifu. Remains of Nobunaga's residence in Gifu can be found today in Gifu Park. Naming it after the legendary Mount Qi (岐山 Qi in Standard Mandarin) in China, on which the Zhou dynasty started, Nobunaga revealed his ambition to conquer the whole of Japan. He also started using a new personal seal that read Tenka Fubu (天下布武), which means "Spread the militarism over the whole land", or literally "... under the sky". In 1564, Nobunaga had his sister, Oichi, marry Nagamasa Azai, a daimyo in northern Ōmi Province. This would later help pave the way to Kyoto. Marching to Kyoto In 1568, Yoshiaki Ashikaga went to Gifu to ask Nobunaga to start a campaign toward Kyoto. Yoshiaki was the brother of the murdered thirteenth shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate, Yoshiteru Ashikaga, and wanted revenge against the killers who had already set up a puppet shogun, Yoshihide Ashikaga. Nobunaga agreed to install Yoshiaki as the new shogun and, grasping the opportunity to enter Kyoto, started his campaign. An obstacle in southern Ōmi Province, however, was the Rokkaku clan. Led by Yoshikata Rokkoku, the clan refused to recognize Yoshiaki as shogun and was ready to go to war. In response, Nobunaga launched a rapid attack, driving the Rokkaku clan out of their castles. Within a short amount of time, Nobunaga had reached Kyoto and driven the Miyoshi clan out of the city. Yoshiaki was made the 15th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate. Nobunaga refused the post of Kanrei and eventually began to restrict the powers of the shogun, making it clear that he intended to use him as a puppet to justify his future conquests. Yoshiaki, however, was not pleased about being a puppet and secretly corresponded with various daimyo, forging an anti-Nobunaga alliance. Anti - Nobunaga Alliance The Asakura clan was particularly disdainful of the Oda clan's increasing power because, historically, the Oda clan had been subordinate to the Asakura clan. Furthermore, Yoshikage Asakura had also protected Yoshiaki, but had not been willing to march toward Kyoto. Thus, the Asakura clan also despised Nobunaga the most for his success. Battle of Anegawa Main article: Battle of Anegawa When Nobunaga launched a campaign into the Asakura clan's domain, Nagamasa Azai, to whom Oichi was married, broke the alliance with Oda to honor the Azai-Asakura alliance which had lasted for generations. With the help of Ikko rebels, the anti-Nobunaga alliance sprang into full force, taking a heavy toll on the Oda clan. At the Battle of Anegawa, Ieyasu Tokugawa joined forces with Nobunaga and defeated the combined forces of the Asakura and Azai clans. Nobunaga waged war even against Buddhists when they armed themselves and did not obey him. The Enryaku-ji monastery on Mt. Hiei, with its sōhei (warrior monks) of the Tendai school who aided the anti-Nobunaga group by helping Azai-Asakura alliance, was a particular thorn in Nobunaga's side, residing as it did so close to his residence in Kyoto. Nobunaga attacked Enryaku-ji and burnt it to the ground in 1571, even though it had been admired as a significant cultural symbol at the time, and killed between 3,000 and 4,000 men, women and children in the process. Through the years, Nobunaga was able to further consolidate his position and conquer his enemies through brutality. In Nagashima, for example, Nobunaga suffered tremendous losses to the Ikko resistance who was led by anti-Nobunaga alliance member Ishiyama Hongan-ji, including the death of a couple of his brothers. When Nobunaga finally surrounded the enemy complex, he set fire to it, again killing tens of thousands of non-combatants, including women and children. One of the strongest rulers in the anti-Nobunaga alliance was Shingen Takeda, in spite of his generally peaceful relationship and a nominal alliance with the Oda clan. In 1572, at the urgings of the shogun, Shingen decided to make a drive for the capital starting with invading Tokugawa's territory. Tied down on the Western front, Nobunaga sent lackluster aid to Ieyasu, who suffered defeat at the Battle of Mikatagahara in 1573. However, after the battle, the Takeda forces retreated after Shingen died of illness in 1573. This was a relief for Nobunaga because he could now focus on Yoshiaki, who had openly declared hostility more than once, despite the imperial court's intervention. Nobunaga was able to defeat Yoshiaki's weak forces and send him into exile, bringing the Ashikaga shogunate to an end in the same year. Also in 1573, Nobunaga successfully destroyed the Asakura and Azai clans, leading Nagamasa to send Oichi back to Nobunaga and commit suicide. With Nagashima's destruction in 1574, the only threat to Nobunaga was the Takeda clan, now led by Katsuyori Takeda. Battle of Nagashino Main article: Battle of Nagashino At the decisive Battle of Nagashino, the combined forces of Nobunaga and Ieyasu devastated the Takeda clan with the strategic use of arquebuses. Nobunaga compensated for the arquebus' slow reloading time by arranging the arquebusiers in three lines. After each line fired, it would duck and reload as the next line fired. The bullets were able to pierce the Takeda cavalry armor, causing chaos among the Takeda cavalry, who were pushed back and killed by incoming fire. From there, Nobunaga continued his expansion, sending Katsuie Shibata and Toshiie Maeda to the north and Mitsuhide Akechi to Tamba Province. Ishiyama Honganji The Oda clan's siege of Ishiyama Hongan-ji in Osaka made some progress, but the Mouri clan of the Chūgoku region broke the naval blockade and started sending supplies into the strongly-fortified complex by sea. As a result, in 1577, Hideyoshi Hashiba was ordered to expand west to confront the Mouri clan. Battle of Tedorigawa However, Kenshin Uesugi, said to be the greatest general of his time since the demise of Shingen Takeda, took part in the second anti-Nobunaga alliance. Following his conquest of neighboring forces, the two sides clashed during the Battle of Tedorigawa which resulted in a decisive Uesugi victory. It was around this time that Uesugi forces began preparations to march on Kyoto. Due to his defeat, Nobunaga's expansion in Noto, Kaga, and Etchū Province area was stagnant for a while. But Kenshin, who prepared to move his armies again after the battle, died from a possible cerebral hemorrhage before moving them. After Kenshin's death and much confusion among his successors, Nobunaga started his campaign on this area again. Nobunaga forced the Ishiyama Hongan-ji to surrender in 1580 and destroyed the Takeda clan in 1582. Nobunaga's administration was at its height of power and he was about to launch invasions into Echigo Province and Shikoku. Death In 1582, his former sandal bearer Hideyoshi invaded Bichu Province, laying siege to Takamatsu Castle. However, the castle was vital to the Mouri clan, and losing it would leave the Mouri home domain vulnerable. Led by Terumoto Mouri, reinforcements arrived outside Takamatsu Castle, and the two sides came to a standstill. Hashiba asked for reinforcements from Nobunaga. It has often been argued that Hideyoshi had no need for reinforcements, but asked Nobunaga anyway for various reasons. Most believe that Hideyoshi, envied and hated by fellow generals for his swift rise from a lowly footman to a top general under Nobunaga, wanted to give the credit for taking Takamatsu to Nobunaga so as to humble himself in front of other Oda vassals. In any case, Nobunaga ordered Nagahide Niwa to prepare for an invasion of Shikoku, and Mitsuhide Akechi to assist Hideyoshi. An route to Chūgoku region, Nobunaga stayed at Honnoji, a temple in Kyoto. Since Nobunaga would not expect an attack in the middle of his firmly-controlled territories, he was guarded by only a few dozen personal servants and bodyguards. Nevertheless, Mitsuhide suddenly had Honnoji surrounded in a coup d'état, forcing Nobunaga to fight him. Nobunaga lost and was forced to commit Suicide. At the same time, Mitsuhide forces assaulted Nijo Castle. With Nobunaga when he died was his young page, Ranmaru Mori, who had served him faithfully for many years and was still in his teens at the time. Ranmaru's loyalty and devotion to his lord were widely known and praised for his bravery to commit suicide at a young age during the Edo period. Just eleven days after the coup at Honnoji, Mitsuhide was killed at the Battle of Yamazaki and his army was defeated by Hideyoshi, who eventually was made the rightful heir to Nobunaga's legacy. Items Mounts Little Skylark One of Nobunaga's favorite mounts. It is said that of the many horses given him, this is the one he like most. Family Father *Nobuhide Oda Brothers *Hidetaka Oda *Nagamasu Oda *Nobuharu Oda *Nobuhiro Oda *Nobukane Oda *Nobutoki Oda *Nobuyuki Oda Sons *Nobutada Oda *Nobutaka Oda *Katsunaga Oda *Nobukatsu Oda Legacy Nobunaga is remembered in Japan as one of the most brutal figures of the Sengoku period. But, in fact, his actions were not especially brutal for that time. Nobunaga was the first of three unifiers during the Sengoku period. These unifiers were Nobunaga, Hideyoshi and Ieyasu. Nobunaga was well on his way to the complete conquest and unification of Japan when Mitsuhide, one of his generals, forced Nobunaga into committing suicide in Honnoji in Kyoto. Culture As Nobunaga conquered Japan and amassed a great amount of wealth, he progressively supported the arts for which he always had an interest, but which he later and gradually more importantly used as a display of his power and prestige. He built extensive gardens and castles which were themselves great works of art. Azuchi Castle on the shores of Lake Biwa is said to have been the greatest castle in the history of Japan, covered with gold and statues on the outside and decorated with standing screen, sliding door, wall, and ceiling paintings made by his subject Eitoku Kano on the inside. During this time, Nobunaga's subject and tea master Rikyu Sen established the Japanese tea ceremony which Nobunaga popularized and used originally as a way to talk politics and business. The beginnings of modern kabuki were started and later fully developed in the early Edo period. Additionally, Nobunaga was very interested in European culture which was still very new to Japan. He collected pieces of Western art as well as arms and armor, and he is considered to be among the first Japanese people in recorded history to wear European clothes. He also became the patron of the Jesuit missionaries in Japan and supported the establishment of the first Christian church in Kyoto in 1576, although he never converted to Christianity. During a visit by the Jesuits in March of 1581, Nobunaga's interest was piqued by a slave in the service of a Jesuit inspector of missions, and it was requested that he be left in Nobunaga's service. This slave, later called by the Japanese name Yasuke, was highly favored by Nobunaga and fought in the final battle at Honnoji. Gallery Visit the full gallery. Nobunaga Oda .jpg|Painting of Nobunaga Nobunaga Oda portrait.jpg|Nobunaga Oda portrait by Jesuit Giovanni Nicolao Nobunaga Oda, Ehon Toyotomi Kunkoki.JPG|Portrait of Nobunaga in Ehon Toyotomi Kunkoki Nobunaga Oda statue.JPG|Nobunaga Oda's statue in Kiyosu castle Sources #Oda Nobunaga. Samurai Wiki. #Jansen, Marius. (2000). The Making of Modern Japan, pg. 11. #Takeuchi, Rizō. (1985). Nihonshi shōjiten, p. 233. #"1560: The Spring Thunderstorm," Geocities.com. #''Gifu City Walking Map''. Gifu Lively City Public Corporation, 2007. #Gifu Castle. Oumi-castle.net. Accessed December 5, 2007. #Beasley, W. G. (August 31, 2000). "The Unifiers". The Japanese Experience: A Short History of Japan. University of California Press. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-520-22560-2. #Edward Carpenter, Intermediate Types among Primitive Folk pp140-150 #"Personalities such as Oda Nobunaga's boy lover Mori Ranmaru were widely known throughout the Edo period." Timon Screech, Sex and the floating world: erotic images in Japan, 1700-1820‎ - Page 84 #Found in:Duiker, William J.; Jackson J. Spielvogel (2006). [http://books.google.co.jp/books?id=ZWTBUX10gaQC World History, Volume II]. Cengage Learning. pp. 463, 474. ISBN 0495050547. http://books.google.co.jp/books?id=ZWTBUX10gaQC. , attributed to C.Nakane and S.Oishi, eds., Tokugawa Japan (Tokyo, 1990), p.14. Hashiba is the family name that Toyotomi Hideyoshi used while he was a follower of Nobunaga. In Japanese:"織田がつき 羽柴がこねし 天下餅 座りしままに 食うは徳川". Variants exist. #Shunkoin Temple in Kyoto, JAPAN. Shunkoin Temple Organization. Accessed September 19, 2007. #Crystal Report Viewer. International Skating Union. Accessed August 19, 2007. #Smile Wind. Nobunari Oda. Accessed September 15, 2007. #"Erik Christian Haugaard" (1984). "The Samurai's Tale". Houghton Mifflin Books. p. ix. ""Lord Oda Nobunaga - Lord Takeda Shingen's rival and enemy, well known for his merciless cruelty"" Category:Warriors Category:Oda